From the editors's wardrobes - dominated by Marques' Almeida denim and Saint Laurent biker boots - to the model of the season and the party to be seen at, look back at the fashion lessons learned this PFW.

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Fashion’s dance-off

It was PFW’s version of Stomp at Rick Owens’s show when he flew in dance step-teams from America, and the catwalk was pounded by powerful “non” models, in colour-coded outfits, from black to cream, grey and white. It discarded every conception of what a fashion show should be – this was 40 shapely multicultural women dancing their socks off (or more accurately Rick Owens boots and trainers) and was a joy to watch. Jean Paul Gaultier then followed at the weekend with a dance competition in the mode of a traditional French cabaret, complete with judges, who marked the models as they sashayed down the catwalk. Coco Rocha was first out (a model known for her dance credentials), dressed as Danny from Grease, with her very own Sandy, leaping on to the judges’ table to belt out “You’re the One that I want”. Karlie Kloss followed as an Eighties Madonna, voguing, while model Hannelore Knuts did erotic tango to Roxanne by the Police… Please, more encores next season!

PA

London’s hottest new export

London design duo Marques’ Almeida’s denim was a favourite among editors and buyers alike. Expect to hear more from this New Gen-supported brand.

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The peacocks have flown

There may have been more street-style photographers than ever but this season there were noticeably less willing participants. The editors and buyers have split into two firm camps – those that do, and those that definitely don’t, even using elegant clutches to ward off snappers.

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Front-row style

Junya Watanabe’s autumn/winter 2013 patchwork jeans seem to have been sold exclusively to fashion editors – there were so many on the front row. The show itself was also a major highlight in Paris, particularly because there was lots of lovely denim in there for us to buy next season (never mind those studded boots we were salivating over… expect waiting lists at Dover Street come January). Prada’s PFW secret style hit was the elegant Forties-inspired flower-print tea dresses with graceful asymmetric hems, in black, blush pink and cornflower blue, which appeared in abundance daily and suited the humid heat of Paris.

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Stop-offs

Post show everyone was dining on steaks at fashion’s oldest, favourite eaterie, the brasserie Anahi, in the Marais. And without the Ritz’s Hemingway bar, it was late-night whiskies at Harry’s Bar. From JW Anderson to Mary Katrantzou this was the big watering hole. Between-show shopping sprees meant the usual queues outside Colette (still Paris’s premier destination for visiting fashion crew) and Céline, where editors were stocking up on more laundry checks (either the funnel-neck top or the matching skirt), especially given they had just seen it continued for spring/summer 2014 on her catwalk hours earlier.

Jason Whittaker/Flickr

The hot ticket

Hundreds of tealights lined the route to the entrance to PFW’s hottest ticket, the opening of the Azzedine Alaïa exhibition at the Palais Galliera. Such is the number of his fans and friends, they were forced to hold two separate opening nights, on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, the fashion world arrived in all their glamorous attire, from supermodels past and present (Naomi Campbell, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Inès de la Fressange), to artists, designers (Kenzo, Louboutin, Peter Dundas, Martine Sitbon) and fashion editors. Here were all his most memorable and covetable creations in one room, no wonder, then, the Alaia Paris sale shop was stripped bare the next day by inspired guests.

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Fashion dinner of the week

Condé Nast's Jonathan Newhouse hosted a surprise dinner on Monday to celebrate Franca Sozzani's 25 years at the head of Italian Vogue. If a bomb had dropped on Caviar Kaspia that night, it would have decimated the international fashion world. Valentino Garavani, John Galliano, Christopher Kane, Erdem Moralioglu and Jean Paul Gaultier joined in the surprise, all crouching in silence to await her arrival. Phoebe Philo, sticking to a simple navy coat rather than the exuberance of her morning's catwalk, dropped by and Franca's great friend Miuccia Prada even left her work on Miu Miu to share the evening. Standing on a chair to give her speech, Franca said she wasn't a crying kind of girl but if she were, she would cry at the sight of everyone.

Stefano Guindani

The party

Girls who like to have fun headed to Peter Dundas’s Pucci party on Saturday night. It was models and Brit girls galore, from Poppy Delevingne in black-beaded Pucci dungarees to Lindsey Wixson. This was the night of after-after parties. From the Pucci store party, a few lucky hundred then moved to Monsieur Bleu (security was so tight there, the PRs had pictures of guests on their iPads to guard against imposters), and on to another poolside do for the final dawn run.

Fameflynet

The flat boot

The real hit was the Saint Laurent embellished biker boot (£4,845), which scored the highest envy points amongst editors (Anna Dello Russo obviously had a pair). Despite yet more flat shoes all over the catwalks - we certainly didn't miss Louis Vuitton's boots, this was Marc trumping all previous versions - we loved the fact that most French fashion editors, led by French Vogue’s editor-in-chief Emmanuelle Alt, remained resolutely in heels; one has to admire their determination to stick to true French chic.

Jody Todd

Everyone was talking about… workmanship

Hedi Slimane continued his rock’n’roll theme with Eighties disco dresses, artfully dishabillé on the catwalk, but of a couture-level of craftsmanship close up. Beautiful workmanship was a theme celebrated throughout the shows, from woven feathers at McQueen to incredible beadwork and embroidery at Valentino, lace so fine, it was as if nothing was there. Everyone was also desperate to order the Valentino fringed-leather or suede cape, ponchos and coats for their Paris re-run next season.

Indigital

Model of the season

Brit girl Edie Campbell continued her reign of cool in Paris – she opened Louis Vuitton, was perfectly fashionably grumpy at Saint Laurent…

Indigital

West London style

Will we ever get enough of our west London girl? Probably not. At Céline, Phoebe Philo really went back to her roots – the days when she had a gold tooth and was hanging around Portobello at the age of 20. This was couture reggae – almost (the green, black, red and yellow colour palette, the elongated string-vest dresses, Soul II Soul soundtrack…) And who wants those Love Life skate shoes? We do!